Labour vows to fight police cuts

Labour leader Ed Miliband has launched his party's campaign for
Police and Crime Commissioner elections by pledging to fight against
plans to slash the number of officers on the streets.

Although Labour opposed the introduction of Police and Crime
Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales, Mr Miliband accepts that
elections scheduled for November will be very important for the future
of the police service.

Speaking to party activists and local people at a community
centre in Quinton, Birmingham, Mr Miliband said: "We didn't seek these
police commissioner elections - we thought that if you were spending
£125 million most people would want that money spent on the police, not
on new elections.

"But if these elections do go ahead - if the Government insists
on them going ahead - we, Labour, are determined to make the best of a
bad job.

"What we are going to be arguing for in these elections is very, very important.

"First of all we are going to be saying taking officers off the
streets is the wrong thing to do - it's not what our communities want,
it's not what the police want."

Confirming that Labour has now selected all its candidates for
the elections, Mr Miliband added: "We are going to be arguing that we
will protect the independence of the police - our police commissioner
candidates are committed to that.

"But also crucially we'll be arguing that we want police
commissioners who will work with fantastic city councils like Birmingham
to say 'Whatever national government is doing let's join up to cut
crime - let's work together against anti-social behaviour'."

Promising a positive campaign from his party, Mr Miliband said
the police service seemed to have been fighting against the odds since
the coalition Government took office.

The Labour leader claimed: "They have certainly been fighting against the odds in the last couple of years.

"Fighting against the odds with a government that hasn't been
listening to them - fighting against the odds with a government that is
cutting 16,000 police officers."

Labour's shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, also spoke at the
launch and accused the current Government of undermining the police.

She said: "We still believe that the Government should spend over
£100 million that they are planning to spend on police commissioner
elections on 3,000 police constables instead.

"But if the Government is going to go ahead then we will have a
talented and experienced array of candidates standing for Labour to do
everything that we can to fight against the 16,000 police officer cuts."

Police and Crime Commissioners will be tasked with cutting crime
and delivering an effective and efficient police service within their
force area.

The Home Office says the new role will provide "stronger and more
transparent accountability" to the police and make forces answerable to
the communities they serve.